Citation

Pozzoli T, Gini G, Altoè G. PLoS One 2017; 12(11): e0188062.

Affiliation

Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0188062

PMID

29131871

Abstract

This study investigated whether different behaviors young adolescents can act during bullying episodes were associated with their ability to recognize morphed facial expressions of the six basic emotions, expressed at high and low intensity. The sample included 117 middle-school students (45.3% girls; mean age = 12.4 years) who filled in a peer nomination questionnaire and individually performed a computerized emotion recognition task. Bayesian generalized mixed-effects models showed a complex picture, in which type and intensity of emotions, students' behavior and gender interacted in explaining recognition accuracy.

RESULTS were discussed with a particular focus on negative emotions and suggesting a "neutral" nature of emotion recognition ability, which does not necessarily lead to moral behavior but can also be used for pursuing immoral goals.

Language: en